Refections on the use of nonverbal communication in teaching Spanish to sino-speakers

Abstract

The increased interest in Spanish as a Foreign Language (FL) has meant that inChina alone there are 25,000 university students taking Spanish courses (InstitutoCervantes, 2013). The demand for Spanish language and culture courses has yet tobe met by adequate numbers of teachers with a good understanding of Chineseculture, especially if we question the uniformity of that culture over all regions ofSino-speakers (in particular China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). Traditionally Chinesevalues have been linked to the works of Confucius and are often reflected innonverbal communication (NVC). In FL teaching the implications of nonverbalcommunication are often not properly understood, despite their importance tothinking (McNeill and Duncan, 2000), to creating immediacy with students(Mehrabian, 1972), and in ensuring that students of the FL are accepted by nativespeakers of the language (Neu, 1990). We argue that FL teachers shouldunderstand the importance of NVC in the classroom, although it is not usuallyincluded in textbooks, and be aware of cultural differences among Sino-speakers,and of how these affect NVC and so communication.